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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27912910">Beyond Death's Door</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/nibblesdapig/pseuds/nibblesdapig'>nibblesdapig</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Afterlife, Blood and Gore, Death, Ghosts, How Do I Tag, I'm Sorry, Implied/Referenced Suicide, My First AO3 Post, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Warnings May Change, i wrote this for school and i have Regrets™</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 19:08:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>949</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27912910</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/nibblesdapig/pseuds/nibblesdapig</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Riley wakes up and finds themself as a ghost, things quickly take a turn for worst. After meeting a Reaper named Colt, they journey through the supposed 'afterlife,' quickly finding out that it is much closer to a Hell than a Heaven.</p><p>(Title is subject to change)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Beyond Death's Door</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I started writing this for school as a creative writing project. I cannot believe that I actually submitted most of this first chapter..... if I get sent to counselling for this then oh well so be it i guess</p><p>Also this is the first thing I've written in a while, and the first thing I've ever posted so if anyone actually sees this (oof), feedback would be greatly appreciated! :)</p><p>That being said, hope you enjoy!</p><p>(TW: death, implied suicide, gore, probably more as this goes on and just general dark themes)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>I shouldn’t be here,</em> is all I can think, because I shouldn’t. I should be dead. I shouldn’t be hovering in the air a few feet above my lifeless corpse, still warm and streaked with blood.</p><p><em>My corpse?</em> I feel like I should be concerned about this new development, but I just feel kind of empty. Detached. Like I know what’s happening but nothing’s really registering in my brain properly. <em>Am I dissociating? Huh. I haven’t done that in a while.</em></p><p>“What happened?” I ask the man behind me. <em>Since when was there a man behind me?</em></p><p>“You jumped,” is all he says, his voice deep and scratchy. It makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.</p><p>“Oh,” is all I say. It’s all I need to say. We both know what I mean. We both know what I finally did.</p><p>Then I start laughing.</p><p>I don’t know what comes over me, but I do know that I can’t stop once I’ve started. It sounds crazed, even to my own ears, and I can’t begin to imagine what the mysterious man must think of me. Laughing at my own corpse, broken from the fall. Laughing at everything I lost. Laughing at everything I threw away. Laughing because I can’t find it within myself to regret it.<br/>
I laugh until my stomach hurts and I can’t breath, until my face is streaked with tears, and I realise that at some point I stopped laughing and started crying.</p><p>“Come with me,” the man says and turns away from the sorry sight I must make. I nod, pick myself up from where I’ve fallen, <em>(When did that happen?)</em>, and hurry after his fading form.</p><p>“Who are you?” I yell after him, but he doesn’t so much as turn, let alone respond. “What do you want with me?” My voice cracks and I realise just how hoarse my voice is. I wonder how long I was crying for before I realised that I’d stopped laughing. </p><p>He turns, and I know that no matter the answer, I have to follow. <em>Why do I have to follow? Why do I have to do anything anymore? I’m dead, aren’t I?</em></p><p>Suddenly I am beside him, although I don’t remember moving, and get a good look at him for the first time. I barely manage to contain my surprise. <em>(Or is it fear?)</em>, because I’m not sure what I expected, but it certainly wasn’t this… this <em>thing</em>... that I find before me.<br/>
He is human, but distinctly not human at the same time. He is just slightly too tall, his fingers just slightly too sharp, and his face is just slightly… <em>off</em>. He - no, <em>it</em> - has light blue hair and piercing green eyes that are definitely more feline than they should be. Its long black cloak swishes around its combat boots, and when it blinks its eyelids close sideways like a reptiles would. It clears its throat, and I jump, startled. It clearly doesn’t appreciate being stared at, and I make a mental note to try and not piss the creature off further in the future.<br/>
“My name is Colt. I am the reaper that has been assigned to you. You will follow me and not ask questions,” he replies coolly, clearly un-phased by my previous breakdown, and sounding vaguely irritated. He looks like he is in a hurry, so, just to be annoying, I start asking questions. <em>It’s not like I have anything left to lose,</em> I think with a dark laugh.</p><p>Or at least I try to.</p><p>It turns out that all I can do is nod mutely, finding that my mouth feels like it's been sewn shut. I try to say something, <em>anything</em>, but to no avail. He smirks, amused, and I realise that the reaper is enjoying my struggles, futile as they may be.</p><p>We continue walking and several hours must have gone past by the time we reach the door, because the sun is just peaking over the horizon, casting brilliant golden rays across the city and illuminating the dark alleys. <em>I wonder how long it will be before they find my body?</em></p><p>As far as I can tell, the door is made of thick, dark wood, with golden streaks running through it. I've lived in this city my whole life, and I don't remember ever seeing a door even remotely like this. At this point I'm honestly not surprised that there just so happens to be a door to the afterlife in the middle of a major city. A lot of people must die here. <em>(How do I know where the door goes?) (How do I know there's an afterlife?)</em></p><p>All of a sudden, the golden streaks start glowing, and I realise that they're moving. They writhe like snakes and I swear that if I listen closely I can hear them hissing. <em>"Welcome,"</em> they say, in hissing tones. <em>"We've been waiting for you,"</em></p><p>As they curl into a handle, I notice Colt has started tapping his foot and checking his watch <em>(It looks more like a compass than a watch. I wonder how that works?)</em> almost as if he's late for something. As soon as the snakes have solidified enough for the door to be opened, Colt yanks on it and it hits the alley wall with a loud <em>thunk!</em>, making the windows rattle in their frames on the nearby houses.</p><p>A long hallway is stretched out before me, and I am suddenly filled with a sense of dread. I stumble as Colt pushes me in, and whip around just in time to see the door slam shut behind us, a gust of cold air making me shiver.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>if anyone has any suggestions or feedback, that would be amazing! Also, the chapters will probably be (really super) short at first (since I'm not used to writing that much) and then get longer, and this will be updated sporadically. I do plan to complete this though, so it WILL be finished (eventually).</p><p>so, uh, yeah. Thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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